Scads a time general artists have longed to create something that they felt was more consequential, more timeless, than the screw up they considered to be less important. This phenomenon is examined in detail in Mike Leigh’s 1999 fog Topsy-Turvy, regarding the troubled artistic partnership of Gilbert & Sullivan.The irony of course comes in when the “fluff” is remembered and the “important” drudgery is completely forgotten.
While one authority suspect at first blush that a biopic of a composer and lyricist of operettas in the 1880’s puissance not be terribly compelling, Leigh has in fact created an excellent portrayal of these two very different creators and their struggles to both follow their own creative bents and to honor their business commitments to turn out a modish show. This primary dilemma is given an additional twist when Sir Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner), at the constantly considered the greatest English composer, decides that he wants to write a grand opera. This desire finds expression in his angrily refusing to set William Schwenk Gilbert’s libretti, which he finds increasingly repetitive and ludicrous. These libretti tended to center on some magical contrivance of one kind or another, hence the note to “topsy-turvydom” in the extract above and in the film’s title.
Gilbert (a delightful Jim Broadbent) is naturally annoyed at this superior attitude, and exercising his own ego, refuses to transcribe a different libretto. A chance call by Gilbert, at the urging of his long-suffering wife Lucy (Leslie Manville), to an display of Japanese preoccupation, gives the inspiration for one of the team’s most notable productions, The Mikado. The second half of the film is active with their efforts to get this assembly staged, despite the tons obstacles to such a different opus winning acceptance.
The film does tend to be a little self-indulgent at times; its running time of greater than two and one half hours is not entirely earnest to necessary fabric. For instance, an early scene displays Gilbert’s doddering, half-bananas, whimpering father, who is never seen or heard from again. Ditto conducive to Sullivan’s Parisian womanizing, which goes on far longer than is of the essence to get the illustration. Anyway, the performances by the leads are such a joyousness that it’s distressingly to nit-pick Leigh for including additional scenes. At the selfsame time, the film frustratingly minimizes Gilbert expressing his novel idea to Sullivan and attempting to win him throughout to this innovative subject matter. This would deliver seemed to me to be the point where all of the senior-act maturing was universal, and it mostly happens insane-silver screen.
The garments design (which won an Oscar®) and the production design are first-rate and sumptuous throughout. The perfect compositions are always exciting as are the emendations and arrangements of Gilbert & Sullivan’s distinct compositions, taken largely from Princess Ida and The Sorcerer as well as The Mikado.
The film excels in the scenes between the two principals, but the supporting performances are all capital (with the imaginable exclusion of Charles Simon as Gilbert’s half-dotty father). In persnickety, the backstage jitters and problems of producing a musical comedy are captured vividly and with both sympathy and heart. Anyone who has any sort of love for theater purposefulness be captivated by this twin. And fans of Gilbert & Sullivan at one’s desire also be pleased with the music, for in most cases each song is performed in its entirety.